The Little Book On Line
A Study Guide for the Ohio Ninth-Grade Citizenship Proficiency Test

O. Civic Involvement

RELATED
WORDS

Civic involvement
is necessary to keep our
democracy
strong and successful. Civic involvement is citizen participation.
It means actively participating in the democratic system under which we live.
We can do this by exercising our rights and accepting our reponsibilities.

Civic involvement means becoming knowledgeable about what is going on in our
neighborhoods, city, county, state and
nation.
Reading a book or newspaper, listening to a speech or news report on the
radio, or watching the nightly news or a news program on television to be
better informed are examples of civic involvement which are
passive.

Civic involvement can also be
active.
By voting on election day, we help decide who makes our laws and, by so
doing, influence what laws are made. Besides voting, active civic involvement
can include convincing other people to vote for or against
issues.

Civic involvement is usually
voluntary,
which means there is no pay. But, civic involvement does pay in its own way.
It makes our neighborhood, city, county, state and nation better for all of
us. Contributing to worthwhile charities, tutoring younger children, bagging
groceries at hunger centers or giving one day a month to help some community
project makes everyone richer.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that everyone can be great, because everyone
can serve.